Political Science I / Institutions and the Distribution of Power
Practice question · Sort into groups

Sort each feature by the system of government it belongs to.

Groups: Parliamentary · Presidential · Semi-presidential

Hints
  1. Sort by whether the executive can be dismissed by the assembly.
  2. Cohabitation requires two separately mandated executives to exist at once.
Show the answer

Parliamentary: Fall on no-confidence, Exec from legislature

Presidential: Fixed term, no dismissal, Dual branch legitimacy

Semi-presidential: Elected pres, assembly PM, Cohabitation of rivals

Why

Dual legitimacy and cohabitation are the two features worth understanding rather than memorising. Both arise when two institutions hold independent mandates; the difference is that a semi-presidential constitution has a mechanism for the resulting conflict, and a presidential one, on Linz's argument, does not.

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